The present invention relates to a top guide for a fishing rod, and more particularly to a top guide for a fishing rod having a bridge extending rearwardly from an annular frame holding a guide ring.
A variety of performances are required to a line guide for a fishing rod. Among these, the line guide should be light in weight and high in strength, a line entanglement is easy to be released or the like. These factors are the most important factors. These features are strongly demanded for the top guide to be mounted on the fishing rod.
A bridge is known as one of the means that may respond to these requirements. This bridge is provided to extend in a direction that is slanted from the frame holding the guide ring to reinforce the frame and function as a guide portion for guiding the entangled line in a releasing direction. In many cases, the bridge is provided on the top guide having a size that is greater than the medium one.
A variety of forms of the bridges to be provided on the top guide have been proposed. The cases where a linear material rod-shaped member or a rod made of metal is used for the bridges are disclosed in the Gazettes of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 9416/1989, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 33250/1981, Japanese Design Publication Gazette No. 531487 or the like. In the top guide disclosed in these publications, an end of the bridge is brazed to the frame portion or the guide ring, and the other end is overlaid on an outer circumferential surface of the fishing rod body.
Also, the top guides having the bridges made of a metal plate which are similar to the present invention are found in the Gazette of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 41167/1983, Japanese Design Publication Gazette Nos. 531483 and 505945, three of the design patents based upon Japanese Design. In the top guide disclosed in these Gazettes, the bridge is pressed integrally with the frame.
In the top guide provided with the bridge, as a countermeasure for further enhancing the release effect of the line entanglement by the bridge, the slant angle of the bridge might be made gentle as much as possible so that the fishing line is likely to be smoothly moved.
However, in order to make the slant of the bridge gentle without changing the position of the bridge extending from the frame or a height of the frame, it is necessary to extend a length of the bridge. Thus, the weight of the bridge is increased. Also, in order to compensate for the mechanical strength against bending, that decrease in accordance with the increased length of the bridge, it is necessary to increase a thickness of the bridge. As a result, a weight increase would be rather remarkable. In particular, in a type in which the rear end of the bridge is fixed to the fishing rod insertion pipe like a top guide disclosed in Japanese Design Publication Gazette No. 531483, the length of the mounting pipe has to be extended so that the increase in the weight is remarkable and at the same time, the tone (flexibility) of the rod is offset.
On the other hand, in a type in which the metal made rod or the linear material rod-shaped member is used as a bridge, in order to braze one end thereof to the guide ring or the frame part, it is inevitable to generate a step corresponding to a size of the cross-sectional surface of the bridge. Also, in a type in which the bridge is formed integrally with the frame by a metal plate, it is inevitable for a bend portion, that is a continuous section between the bridge and the frame, to expend outwardly of the frame to form an edge. These step and edge would from time to time obstruct the release of the entangled fishing line around the bridge. In particular, since the fishing line is actually wet in fishing, the entangled fishing line is stuck to the bridge. Depending upon the state of the entanglement of the fishing line, there is a fear that the release of the fishing line would be prevented even if the slight step or edge is present.